What is the Truth?
by PhantomPandamonium
Summary: Everyone thinks Mello hates Near, but that doesn't mean that Near hates Mello back. Mello x Near.
1. Chapter 1

Mello's hatred for Near originated at the orphanage where they both had lived as children. This story takes place there, at the Wammy house.  
Mello was walking slowly down the hall, where a silent Near had been sitting on the floor, completing a white puzzle with the letter L printed in the bottom-right corner. Matt followed Mello like a puppy, matching every turn or swerve Mello made in his unusually slow pace. Near looked up at Mello, and Mello down to Near, but Mello immediately turned up his nose to ignore Near's existence.  
"Hey, Mello!" Near shouted at him as he walked past. Mello stopped, almost making Matt crash into him.  
"What, twerp?" Mello asked without turning around to face his adversary. Matt did turn around, however, only to see Near putting the final piece of his puzzle into place.  
"I need to talk to you. Alone." Near told Mello. Matt took the hint and ran off down the hall to his room, closing the door once inside. Mello stared into Near's eyes, as if he could see into Near's soul if he looked hard enough.  
"You do know you don't have x-ray vision...right, Mello?" Near calmly asked. Mello clenched his fists, trying to contain his anger. It didn't work for long, however, and soon he grabbed the puzzle and threw it against the wall. As soon as the pieces of his puzzle fell one by one to the tiled floor in a rain of white, Near began to pick them up again.  
"Stop it!" Mello exclaimed, "Just stop it, you, you...!" Mello stopped as Near wrapped his arms around Mello's legs, hugging him from his location on the floor.  
"I know what you think." Near told his captive, "I know you think you're always...second-best."  
"Why you...you don't know anything!" Mello yelled in frustration. "You couldn't ever understand!" Near pulled himself up using Mello's hips for support.  
"You're right...I may never know, I may never understand. But I can assure you, Mello; you were never number two to me." Near replied. Mello's angry expression changed to a more compassionate one as Near continued to speak.  
"I never felt like I was number one, Mello. No matter how many contests I won, no matter how many people told me how smart I am, I always have this...hollow feeling inside. Please, Mello...don't hate me..."  
Tears spilled from Near's eyes onto the floor until there was a puddle of them around Mello's feet.  
"I...I don't hate you, Near. That couldn't be further from the truth." Mello told the boy. The tears that pooled from Near's eyes slowly disappeared and he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.  
"Then...what is the truth?"  
Matt slowly stuck his head out from the doorway of his room to see what was taking Mello so long, only to find that his best friend had been trapped by his rival, and he could not get away. Near noticed Matt's presence, and swiftly let go of Mello's waist.  
"Never mind, Mello." said Near in his now stoic expression. As Mello ran off to talk to Matt, Near began to gather the pieces of his white puzzle.  
"L should be here soon. I wonder why he hasn't been here for so long." Matt said as they walked around the corner. Mello seemed to ignore his friend's words, unable to think of anything but Near. It frustrated him to no end, knowing that despite Near's kind words, he would always be number two in the eyes of everyone else.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as the two friends rounded the corner Mello was pinned to the wall, unable to move. He struggled and thrashed to no avail. Matt was very much stronger than he looked. In his flailing, Mello hit his head on the wall.  
"Ow!" Mello yelped in pain. Matt paid no heed to Mello's discomfort, and as drops of salty water fled from Mello's eyes in fear, Matt's own eyes opened to the new world around him. It was no longer a safe place; not here, not anywhere. No one was innocent, no one was pure.  
Surprised by Matt's sudden silence, Mello's eyes halted their flood of tears.  
"I know what he thinks, Mello," Matt said. The crazed glare he wore from behind his goggles scared Mello, but what got to him more were the words that flew from his friend's mouth like a song sung after many a bravo and encore. "But what is the truth?"  
"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" There was a panicked look to Mello's face, as if he might die here with no chance for survival.  
"I never thought you and that...that damned Near..." Matt's eyes welled up, armed and at the ready for the slightest disturbance. "I thought you were on my side... I thought you were my friend!"  
"I am! I always have been, and I always will be!"  
"Prove it!" Matt yelled. They had been conversing quietly until now, and although Matt's outburst would normally have called unwanted attention to the two, no one was within range of his voice. However, both Matt and Mello were silent at this point. Neither one of them spoke for what seemed like ages, and then Matt's hands released Mello. He turned around so that Mello wouldn't see his sullen expression.  
"I'm leaving this god-forsaken place. Don't bother trying to find me." Matt grumbled. Mello's gentle hand now held his shoulder.  
"Let me go with you!" he said. "We both know that you wouldn't last a second out there. You'd probably forget to take your silly games." Matt turned around to face Mello again, and smiled.  
"Well what about you? The only thing you would ever think to take is chocolate!" Matt retorted. And they laughed together for a while like the friends that they were.  
"L should be coming soon. We should go get ready." Mello suggested. Matt nodded, rounded the corner, and went back into his room. Mello lingered at the corner, and then walked down the other hall to his room.


End file.
